Capacity Building

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." - Maimonides

RAM 2019

Reptile and Amphibian Management Workshop (RAM) 2019 was a collaborative training event organized by IHF, Cikananga Wildlife Center, Chester Zoo, and Indonesian Forestry Department (BKSDA). The workshop, held in Cikananga on 30th July - 2nd August 2019, which aims to provide training and resources on reptile and amphibian management for both government officers and NGOs, who are involved with rescuing wildlife from conflict as well as illegal trade.

Fire Service Training Program

Since 2019, we have worked with both North Jakarta and Bogor Fire Departments to remove and translocate conflict snakes in these areas. We have also conducted several training sessions for the firefighters, so that they can safely deal with these potentially dangerous animals, while also paying attention to animal welfare. Part of this project was supported by Save the Snakes.

River Engage 2022

In 2022, we got funding from the National Geographic Society in collaboration with Explorers from the United States and Uganda to train people to conduct water debris research on their own (citizen-scientist). In Indonesia, we added the curriculum with training in herpetology surveys, assisted with specific guidelines, and offline field activity in Ayung River, Bali. This two-day activity was followed by 15 participants, 2 trainers from IHF, 3 speakers from universities and NGOs, 6 team members, and 14 supporting organizations.

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River Engage 2025

Continuing its first event in 2022, in 2025 Species Obscura and Indonesia Herpetofauna Foundation delivered a comprehensive survey workshop, authority engagement, and clean-up. The 2025's River Engage is piloting a new education approach called Place-Based Learning — a method that connects learning directly with the local environment. Held in Petang, Badung, it is an agrotourism area located in the upstream of the River Ayung, the longest river in Bali. Fifty local students and 6 village representatives received training in conducting their own biodiversity (including herpetofauna) and macroplastics survey and got to witness their own riverine biodiversity.

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ObscureFest 2026

The ObscureFest 2026 Intensive Workshop brought together a series of focused capacity-building sessions covering biodiversity documentation and field techniques, including freshwater fish identification, marine invertebrate transect and identification methods, arthropod sampling and preservation, and herpetofauna documentation on January 24th, 2026. IHF session, led by our Director of Program Risma Aprilianti, focused on herpetofauna identification photography techniques. Participants were introduced to the differences between aesthetic and identification-oriented photographs, key morphological features used in species identification, and real applications such as the use of dorsal identification photographs of Leptophryne borbonica at Herpetological Conservatioan Breeding Lab (HCBL) for individual identification.

Following the theoretical discussion, the session continued with a hands-on photography practice. Participants took turns photographing different animals, starting with frogs and continuing with snakes, applying the identification techniques and safety principles discussed earlier. This practical component allowed participants to directly experience the challenges and importance of accurate, ethical, and safe photographic documentation in herpetofauna research and conservation.